St. Landry democrat., 1887-12-24

The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, D. d.,
nreached on "Recreations, GOOD and
Bad" taking two texts: l Corinthians
ch. w. 81: They that use this World'
as not abusing it," and Judges, ch. 10, "
25. And it came to pass, when their
hearts were merry, that they said, Call
for Samson, that he may make US sport.
And they called for Samson out OF the
nrison house: and he made them sport.
DR.. Talmage said:
We are entering the gayest season OF
the wear. The winter opens before us
the gates of thousand amusements,
some of them good and some of them
bad One of my texts will show you
that amusements may be destructiye; my
other text will show you that amuse-
ments may be under the Divine blessing
and direction.
There were three thousand people as
semblcd in the Temple Of Dagon. They
had come to make sport of cyelcss Sam
son. They were all ready for the enter
,ainment. They began to clap and
pound, impatient for the amusement to
begin, and they cried, "Fetch him out!
fetch him outW Yonder see the blind
old giant coming, led by the hand of
child into the very midst of the temple.
At his first appearance there goes up
shout of laughter and derision. The blind
old giant pretends he is tired, and wants
to rest himself against the pillars of
the house; so he says to the lad who
leads him, "Show me where the main
pillars are" The lad does so. Then the
strong man puts his right hand on one
pillar and his left hand on another pillar,
and, with the mighticst push that mortal
ever made, throws himself forward until
the whole house comes down in thunder
Gus crash, grinding the audience like
grapes in a winc-press. And so it came
10 pass, when their hearts were merry,
that they said, Call for Samson, that he
may make us sport. And they called for
Samson out of the prison house; and he
made them sport
In other words: There are amusements
that are destructive, and bring down dis
aster and death upon the heads OF those
who practice them. While they laugh
and cheer, they die. The three thou
sand who perished that day in GAIA are
as nothing compared with the tens of
thousands who have been destroyed by
sinful amusements.
But the other text l have read implies
that there is lawful use of the world as
well as an unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Christian
and the man un Christian is, that in the
former case the man masters the world,
while in the latter case the world masters
him. For whom did God make this grand
and beautiful world? For whom this
wonderful expenditure of color, this
gracefulness of line, this mosaic Of the
ground, this fresco of the sky, this
glowing fruitage of orchard and
vineyard, this full orchestra of the
tempest, in which the tree branches flute,
and the winds trumpet, and the thun-
ders drum, and all the splendors of earth
and sky come claShing their cymbals ?
For whom did God spring the arched
bridge of colors resting upon buttresses
of broken rm-cloud? For whom did
he gather the upholstery of fire around
the window of the setting sun? For all
men; but more especially for his own
dear children.
If you build large mansion, and
spread great feast after it to celebrate
the completion of the structure, do you
CT n in nd
the place while you thrust your own
the fields? Oh, DO. You say, II am
very glad to see strangers in my man
sion, but my own sons and daughters
shall have the first right there" Now,
God has built this grand mansion of a
world and he has spread glorious feast
in it; and while those who are strangers
to His grace may come in, l think that
God especially intends TO give the ad-
vantage to His own children, those who
are the sons and daughters of the Lord
Almighty, those who through grace can
look up and say, abba. Father" You
cannot make me believe that God gives
more advantages TO the world than He
gives to the church bought by His own
blood. If, therefore, people of the
world have looked with dolor-
Gus sympathy upon those who make
profession of religion, and have said,
Those new converts are going down
into privation and into hardship. Why
did not they tarry little longer in the
world, and have some of it's enjoyments
and amusements and recreations?" |
say to such men of the world, You are
greatly mistaken" and before l get
through | will show that those people
who stay out of the kingdom of God
have the hardships and self -dcnials,
while those who come in have the ioys
and the satisfactions.
This morning, in the name of the King
OF Heaven and earth, | serve a writ Of
eJectment upon all the sinful and pol
luted who have squatted on the domain
OF earthly pleasure, as though it be-
longed to them, while | claim, in behalf
of the good and the pure and the true,
the eternal inheritance which God has
given them.
Hitherto Christian philanthropists,
clerical and lay, have busted themselves
chiefly in denouncing sinful recreations,
but feel we have no right to stand be-
fore men and women in whose hearts
there is desire for recreation amounting
to positive necessity, denouncing this and
that and the other thing, when we do not
propose to give them something better
God helping me this morning, and with
tn l.,